


Rule Number 1

by Galadriel1010



Category: Class (TV 2016)
Genre: Bullying, F/M, Friendship, Loneliness, M/M, Teen Angst, Teen angst is a pejorative phrase
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-03
Updated: 2017-02-03
Packaged: 2018-09-21 20:27:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9565010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galadriel1010/pseuds/Galadriel1010
Summary: The Bunghole Defence Squad have plenty of unspoken rules. Unfortunately, that means they break them a lot. Like, really a lot.





	

Rule 1. Don't leave Charlie alone.

It wasn't because he didn't understand their world and kept doing stupid things that put himself in danger, like wandering off at lunch time to investigate a shop he'd found on Google and not being able to find his way back because his phone battery was flat, or doing something with something that caused all the fire alarms to go off, even though those things did happen.

It was just because Charlie didn't understand when he was being bullied, although April had a feeling he was starting to get the idea.

He was alone now, at one of the big tables in the dining room. Under normal circumstances it was hard to get a table to yourself, but if you were Charlie it was easy. The younger students on the table behind him turned back to their lunches very quickly when they saw her coming, and she dropped her bags onto the table with a bit more force than she would have done were it not for the sad smile on Charlie's face as he brushed popcorn out of her way.

"How was your practice?" he asked, whilst she dragged a squashed bag of sandwiches out from between two textbooks. "Did you get through lots?"

"A bit. The second violins aren't getting their part." She pulled out a Kit-Kat as well and slid a finger under the wrapper quickly, then broke it in two and handed him half. "Where are the others?"

He looked down at the Kit-Kat in confusion and smiled. "Ram is at training, Tanya is in the library looking up Faraday's Law, I think. Whatever that is."

She bit into her sandwich whilst she waited, and then realised she was going to have to ask. "What did you do?"

"Why does everyone always assume it's something I've done?" he asked, clearly wounded. "Fine, so it was me this time, but does it always have to be? I just…"

"Charlie." She cut him off and grabbed her bags. "Not here, come on."

He trailed after her, looking less like an alien prince and more like a puppy that she'd just told off. He sat on the end of a desk as he was told, and only looked slightly worried when she closed the door behind her. "Now. What was it?"

"Do you think he wishes I was human?" he asked. "I want to be, I really do, but I keep making mistakes. I'm working blind because you don't need to be told how things work, you just know them, and I don't know how my body works or what's a term of endearment or when it stops being one, and he's getting tired of having to explain things to me like I'm a child."

"I'm sure he isn't. And I'm sure he doesn't want you to be anything but you." She sat down next to him and took his hand. "He loves you. Everyone can see that. It's how I know I don't love Ram," she admitted. "Because I look at you two and I see a future, and I look at Ram and see myself smacking him."

Charlie chuckled and looked down at his hands. "I think it was everything. I lied to him about the Cabinet, I nearly used it to save him, and then I killed the Prisoner and admitted that I… you know. And then we had an argument, and I wanted him to just leave so I could use the Cabinet."

"Did you tell him that?"

"No. And you mustn't. He'll come back if you do, but only because he thinks he needs to stop me." He looked out of the window at the children playing football under the No Ball Games sign. "If it weren't for you, I would have destroyed them by now. Before he moved in, I used to sit in front of the Cabinet every night, wishing. After I met him… he was the first reason not to."

"Please don't," she said, laughing nervously. "I quite like my life. As fucked up and weird as it is. Is it strange, having my life in your hands like that?"

"No. That's the only thing that's normal. I'm used to command, not friendship. I… I sometimes wish I hadn't got used to it." He sniffed and wiped at his face with his free hand. "I swear that bed got bigger when he moved in, and hasn't shrunk since…" He sighed. "If he's not speaking to me by Friday afternoon, and Quill hasn't woken up and killed me, I'll buy him flowers. They're for apologising, right?"

"Yes. Yellow roses, for an apology. But those can mean friendship, too, so maybe red ones are better."

He nodded. "The Rhodia used food, but if flowers are the symbol here, then I will get him red and yellow roses. Thank you."

"Food can be a symbol here, too," she admitted.

"April…" He looked up at her. "You had nothing to apologise for."

She shook her head. "I've not been a very good friend to you."  
"You've been the best friend I've ever had." 

"I know," she admitted, squeezing his hand. "And that's really sad. I wish more people would give you a chance."

He nodded. "They were being cruel in there, weren't they? I didn't realise, until I met you. Until I found out what friends are. I almost wish I hadn't now." He looked down again, not before April saw his eyes bright with tears. "I miss him so much it hurts. I didn't think it would hurt."

"Of course it hurts, silly. You love him." She laughed and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. "You just need to give him time to be an idiot. It's what human teenagers do. And Rhodian ones, apparently. He'll come back when he's stopped being stupid, I'm sure." And if she had to have a word to stop him being stupid, she bloody well would.


End file.
